BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College women's soccer team advanced to the MASCAC Tournament title game as the Bears downed the Lancers of Worcester State College, 1-0, in tournament semifinal action this afternoon in Bridgewater.
Senior forward Kaitlin Lamothe (Wrentham, MA) netted her school-record 22nd goal of the season in the 29th minute to lift the second seeded Bears to the victory. Lamothe jumped on a loose ball at the top of the 18 and tucked a shot just inside the left post to break the scoreless tie.
BSC held on the rest of the way, especially in the second half when the Lancers applied major pressure in the offensive zone. Worcester outshot the Bears by a margin of 21-11 for the game and 17-6 in the final stanza.
Senior goaltender Ashley Spingler (West Springfield, MA) kept the Lancers off the scoreboard as she turned aside 12 shots to record her third shutout of the season. Spingler's highlight save of the game was off a direct kick from just outside the 18 midway through the second half as she went low to stop the shot and then was able to contain the rebound.
Her counterpart in goal for Worcester, sophomore Rachael Armenti (West Boylston, MA), registered five saves in the losing effort for the Lancers.
Lamothe, who also rang a shot off the goalpost in the second half, added on to her BSC single-season scoring record as well as she increased her 2008 point total to 52.
BSC (11-3-3) will now await word on the result of the other semifinal matchup between top seed Westfield State and fourth seeded Fitchburg State. Worcester (11-6-1) will look to a possible ECAC Tournament bid when the pairing are announced next Monday. The Lancers saw their streak of four straight MASCAC titles as well as four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances come to an end.
The Bears will be making the program's seventh appearance in the conference championship game and first since 2006. Bridgewater is 2-4 all-time in the MASCAC title game, winning back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.